California is the second most dangerous state in the United States, second only to New Mexico.
Posted by Ask Dr. Drew, Checked
- Sources
- 2 contradict2 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 50%
Ask Dr. DrewOct 21, 2026
Sources conflict on California's rank. ConsumerAffairs' 2026 move-to report, as relayed by KTLA and Reddit, calls California the second most dangerous state, but those echo a single report, and U.S. News' 2026 Best States ranking places California 7th most dangerous. The claim matches the passage faithfully, and no fact-checker has examined the ranking.
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What was said
… Excuse me, he's made lawless California, absolutely lawless. He's not enforcing our criminal laws, so much so that, Drew, California is the second most dangerous state in the entire country, second only to New Mexico. There was a recent Consumer Affairs study that came out just weeks ago that said California is 49th in public safety, 49th. Uh, and so we are the second most dangerous state. It's because Rob Bonta refuses to enforce the law. …
Ask Dr. Drew · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. U.S. News' 2026 Best States analysis lists California 7th among the 10 most dangerous states, with a violent crime rate of 486 per 100,000, and does not place it second.[2]
Contradicts. The 2025 U.S. News list ranks California 8th most dangerous, with New Mexico first, which also does not match a second-place ranking.[3]
Supports. ConsumerAffairs' 2026 best/worst-states report, as relayed by KTLA and a Reddit post, says California is the second most dangerous state, with 4.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents against a national average of 3.6.[4][5]
Context. Smart Growth America's 2026 Dangerous by Design report ranks California 8th most dangerous, but that ranking measures pedestrian deaths, not overall danger, and New Mexico is first on it.[1]
Context. The ConsumerAffairs 2024 safest-states page names New Mexico as least safe and lists the five least safe states without California, which is consistent with New Mexico at the top but does not confirm California's second place.[6]
Sources
6 sources: 1 primary, 5 not rated
- 1Smart Growth America releases 2026 Dangerous by Design Reportcatsip.berkeley.edu · primary source · cited for: context
- 2Best States: The 10 Most Dangerous States in the U.S.usnews.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 3The Most Dangerous States in the U.S. — Five of them are ...piawest.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 4ConsumerAffairs dropped their 2026 "Best/Worst States to Move To" list. New Hampshire, Utah, and Maine take top spots; California, Oregon, and New Mexico at the bottomreddit.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5California still one of the worst states to move to in 2026 ...ktla.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Safest States in the U.S. (2026) | ConsumerAffairs®consumeraffairs.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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